Honduras Health News

The Health Ministry's vice minister said the government asked the Medical College for a two-week grace period before paying roughly 300 contract and interim physicians their back wages, citing administrative delays and pending paperwork from the prior administration.

Ricardo Rodas, president of the IHSS doctors' association, says informational assemblies will continue until the Social Security Institute pays outstanding wages owed to temporary staff and approximately 400 physicians.

Video of IHSS security guards removing a patient from the waiting room at San Pedro Sula's Regional Hospital of the North sparked social-media outrage; hospital officials say the man was disrupting other patients and refusing to leave after multiple warnings.

A viral video captured security guards at the San Pedro Sula IHSS pushing a patient out of the emergency-room waiting area and kicking him; hospital authorities said he had placed his feet on seating and refused guards' orders to stop.

The Health Ministry is deploying mobile medical units (UMAC) to rural communities in Olancho, Atlántida, Intibucá, and El Paraíso from September 14–18 and 21–25, offering free consultations, lab work, dental care, X-rays, ultrasound, and mammography.

Honduras's Medical Association called a nationwide assembly for September 14 to present 16 demands including an immediate end to physician layoffs, salary adjustments tied to inflation, and a commitment that 12% of the national budget go to public health.

The Health Ministry received four portable X-ray machines with artificial intelligence technology from the Global Fund through Global Communities to improve tuberculosis screening and early diagnosis.

More than 400 interim-contract physicians in Honduras are owed up to nine months of salary; after Friday's failed talks with the Health Ministry yielded no payment date, doctors are continuing nationwide hospital assemblies that suspend scheduled patient care.

Tegucigalpa's mayor convened a multi-agency task force to prevent dengue outbreaks as water shortages force residents to store water in containers that can become mosquito breeding grounds; teams are conducting house-to-house inspections and vector control across nine neighborhoods.

Honduras's social-security institute (IHSS) will operate only its emergency and hemodialysis units on September 15, Honduras's Independence Day, while all other services remain closed for the national holiday.

A kidney-disease patient appealed to Congress to immediately approve a promised subsidy for more than 7,000 Hondurans with the condition, citing treatment costs and a deepening health crisis.

Cindy Yasmin Contreras, a 30-year-old nurse at Hospital de Occidente in Santa Rosa de Copán known for her work in emergency and neonatal care during the COVID-19 pandemic, has died after battling a serious illness, her passing drawing an outpouring of grief in the region.

Health authorities in the Bay Islands reported 269 suspected dengue cases as of September 9, with 252 showing no warning signs and 17 showing alarm signs; no deaths have been confirmed, though seven people were hospitalized.

A 3-year-old died after choking, apparently on a mamón (a small tropical fruit), during a Children's Day celebration in the Hato de Enmedio neighborhood of Tegucigalpa; rescue efforts were unsuccessful.

The Health Ministry announced Honduras's first imported chikungunya case and will intensify surveillance at border crossings, particularly with Nicaragua, where the virus is already circulating, to prevent community transmission.

Dr. Juan Carlos Argueta was removed from his position as director of San Pedro Sula's Mario Rivas Hospital on Wednesday, six months after taking the role for a second time; hospital staff reported internal conflicts over administrative decisions and staffing changes.

Honduras's leading public hospital is operating elective surgery at half capacity due to nationwide assemblies by the Medical College, affecting cancer patients and scheduled procedures while the government and physicians negotiate over delayed payments.

Military skydiver Ever David Maldonado, injured during Honduras's September 2025 independence-day celebration, is taking assisted steps with braces nearly a year after suffering spinal fractures that required surgery and rehabilitation in Houston.

President Nasry Asfura appealed to physicians not to suspend patient care amid ongoing protests over unpaid salaries, stating the government has paid over 73% of agreed compensation as of July 31 and announced 46 new specialist positions.

Nurses at Hospital Aníbal Murillo Escobar in Olanchito have begun informational assemblies over the firing of a colleague named Damaris, who was employed under contract since 2024; union leaders warn that protests may escalate if the Health Ministry does not explain or reverse the dismissal.

Former President Manuel Zelaya confirmed he is traveling to Mexico to continue medical treatment after experiencing chest pressure, breathing difficulty, and oxygen loss, which he described as an urgent and serious health episode.

Honduran doctors launched informational assemblies and suspended outpatient visits and elective surgeries at the IHSS, alleging the government broke wage agreements.

Agents from Honduras's criminal investigation agency and health regulator raided Medisan clinic in San Pedro Sula on September 7, a week after La Prensa's investigation exposed the facility's scheme of luring patients with free consultations and then pressuring them into costly treatments based on dubious diagnostic devices.

Honduras's consumer protection agency activated a free hotline (115) and online reporting platform following investigations by El Heraldo Plus and La Prensa Premium that exposed clinics Nueva Med and Medisan for deceiving patients with false diagnoses and unnecessary treatments.

Endovascular neurologist Javier Lagos Servellón presented two difficult cerebral-aneurysm cases treated at San Pedro Sula's Mario Rivas hospital to international specialists at the ESMINT 2026 conference in Marseille, showcasing advances achieved despite limited resources.

As Tegucigalpa's water crisis deepens, the municipal government is buying over 2.4 million gallons from private wells to distribute via tanker truck, but experts warn that untreated well water risks gastrointestinal illness and urge chemical and bacterial testing before consumption.

The Municipal Water and Sanitation Unit (UMAPS) is offering an amnesty through October 12 for users with unpaid balances, with the option to pay a 10–30% down payment and finance the remainder over up to 18 months.

The Honduran Medical College warned it will convene nationwide informational assemblies starting Monday if the government fails to pay eight months of back wages owed to health workers and fulfill job-placement commitments under a 2020 decree.

A former employee at the Nueva Med clinic in Tegucigalpa testified that salespeople without medical training posed as doctors, used false diagnoses to frighten patients, and pressured them into buying unnecessary treatments as part of an alleged fraud operation run by Colombians.

Honduras's child welfare agency (Senaf) reports 104 children are legally available for adoption, with 76 active cases underway, as the agency works to cut a two-year wait time and prioritize domestic families.